Friday, November 28, 2008

heh. I got an F on a math test the other day. I knew the day would come. I tried, I studied (on my own, since the smart half was busy, tired and a little grouchy for a while there) and see how far that got me. It was polynomials. Too many rules for exponents. All the rules got crammed into my head in two days, and most of them fell out before the test.

On the other hand, still an obnoxious teacher's pet A student in Art History. I don't even have the text book for the class, and my mom just sent up the old one she had (sixth edition, 1975 print date), which is the one I read over and over when I was a kid. There are some architecture plans in it that aren't in the new edition and that the teacher doesn't have so I spent some time making them digital for him. Scanning didn't work because the book was too thick so I hope the pictures I took of it will work out.

To balance out the misery of getting an F on a test (o yeah, did I mention cried my wittle lump of coal heart out when I got it back) I went and got a grown-up haircut. I had a hippy mop that was totally out of control, half way down my back, unmanageable mess of curls (where the hell did these come from?!). Had about six inches cut off. She did me up just fine for color and a great style. FIRST EVER time I walked out of a salon with a style I really liked. Put a big hole in the bank account. Smart Half ok with it because DAMN i look alright! Dyn-o-mite, even. Which just goes with the other fantastic thing- I got new pants that are four sizes smaller than the ones I was wearing 18 months ago. And they are even just a weeee bit big.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

HEading into my second full-time term (well, 11 credits, so 1 short of full-time), and basing what I'm going to say on what I've taken so far, it seems like it would be hard to get anything less than a really good grade at this community college.

When I first started I knew some other people who already had a couple of terms under their belts, and I asked to see their writing so I could judge where I was in relation to the college writing classes. What I saw was something I found a little shocking.

What they showed me were the equivalents to what I was writing in middle school English classes, and they were getting As on these papers.

So, either the schooling has been dumbed down immensely, and I don't know if this is a reflection of the community or what, or my secondary school district had very high standards that we lived up to. I only saw papers from the WRI121 class, which is English Comp, but really, what's the deal here? I thought college classes were supposed to be hard- and when I can turn in a 3 page paper on Neolithic art that took me all of an hour to research and 10 minutes to type and proofread and I get an A+ on it, I have to wonder.

Math is math no matter when or where you take it. Some of us will forever struggle with it and some of us cut through every math class like a hot knife in cool whip. I'll never be a hot knife at math, but I'm better at it than I used to be. The fact that I'm halfway through the term and still passing the class says something.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

My friend the Warthogger was the one that nudged me back to school. She graduated with a BS in Business Management- Marketing at 48. She nudged someone else into it, too, so we've been happily busting our brains for a few months. I nudged my Smart Half back into it. The other person who was nudged by the Warthogger nudged Screamin' Nat into it. And our professional country star in disguise is registering this term. I just talked to Djeef, and his smart half has been nudging him, and we had a good discussion about that. I nudged, too.

No matter what, it can't hurt. And if you aren't working, you might as well do something useful with yourself, right?

Because researching whether or not one gets more loaded by using a bong full of cold water, ice or snow vs regular water is not really all that useful.

Yay I got all registered today. Next class in my Math sequence (check)Next class in my Art History sequence (check)Geology and the associated lab (check)

and... and I was surprised to see this, and totally pleased, but bummed out that it isn't a credit class, but figured it would be cool to take it and even though it isn't a credit class, it'll show up on my transcript I think.

Historic Land Management -"This course will discuss and define an historic Native American land management regime within Oregon. Oregon regions will be separated by elevation and move from West to East. Lectures will discuss how Native Americans over generations of living within a given ecosystem developed land management regimes that were not only sustainable but in many cases increased biodiversity levels. Lectures will also help in defining the ethics that were incorporated into Native American management and how these ethics helped guide Native Americans in their daily lives. We will discuss how these theories and techniques can be utilized into todays land management. Topics to be discussed will include but not be limited to defining a Native American land ethic, fire ecology, fishing, hunting, and gathering techniques."

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Sunday, November 02, 2008

had to get a part for the 4runner. got the usual runaround, was handed the wrong part a couple of times and was laughed at when I said it was the wrong one, only to find out from the dealership that HEY not only was I right, it WAS the wrong part, but the part isn't available unless you buy an idler pulley for $60. I made do with gasket goo, because i'm not paying $60 for a friggin rubber o-ring.

then finally managed to hunt down the culprit for the continuing warm-stall problem in the scootypuff (20 years, entire cooling and interior heating system tear down and rebuild later). Coolant temp sensor. Went to parts store again. Get sensor. Get home. Go to install sensor. Notice it's also not the correct part. At least i didn't take the old one out already.